GRANITE CITY, Illinois — Thursday morning will not start with crowds of students in the hall at Granite City High School. No morning bell either. Instead, what should have been the first day of classes for the 2019-2020 school year will instead feature the sound of fans with dusty computer tables filling the walkways.
"This is really, fortunately, our only office affected," Superintendent Jim Greenwald said as he walked into the guidance office.
The ceiling tiles are mostly missing, as are the bottom 5-inches of the walls.
Greenwald says rain gushed through the ceiling, while floodwaters pooled in the library early Monday morning.
"We didn't want to rush having the children come into the building, stepping over hoses," Greenwald said of the decision to push back the start of the school year. "We were also told there would be a lot of loud noise with the dehumidifiers and fans."
The school building certainly wasn't the only Granite City structure flooded Monday. A lot of students' homes were affected too.
"It's just an idea I had and it took off," Margo Catanzaro said of the school supply drive she started on social media.
Catanzaro said Calvary Life Chruch opened their doors to drop-offs starting at 9:30 a.m. and, in a just a few hours, she already had a collection.
"The least of the parents' worries right now should be school supplies," she said.
The supplies need to be dropped off by 3 p.m. Friday, and Catanzaro said they're accepting Walmart gift cards as well.
The items will be distributed ahead of the district's new start date: Monday, Aug. 19.
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